In subsea drilling operations, drilling operators generally use subsea connectors to join risers or other devices to the wellhead. Typically, these devices rely on an externally applied mechanical force to energize a seal between the connector and the joined device. While these mechanically set seals initially hold quite well, during the course of operation differential pressures between an internal bore shared by the devices and the subsea environment can stress or strain the seal, causing the seal to fail.
In addition, during energization, the differential pressure may cause movement of the connector relative to the subsea device that the connector connects to. When this occurs, the seal may not set properly, allowing leakage into or out of the connector. This leakage can further stress or strain the seal causing it to fail earlier than anticipated. Application of additional external mechanical force to further energize the seal may overcome this problem, but it is impractical to continually apply an external mechanical force to the connector to maintain the seal.
Therefore, there is a need for a connector that can be used in subsea environments that overcomes the problems sealing in subsea differential pressure environments.